Denmark Street
Encyclopedia
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...
, notable for its connections with British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
, and is known as the British Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
. The road connects Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road
Charing Cross Road is a street in central London running immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles Circus and then becomes Tottenham Court Road...
at its western end with St Giles High Street at its eastern end. Denmark Street is in the London Borough of Camden
London Borough of Camden
In 1801, the civil parishes that form the modern borough were already developed and had a total population of 96,795. This continued to rise swiftly throughout the 19th century, as the district became built up; reaching 270,197 in the middle of the century...
.
Denmark Street appears on surveys from the 1730s. The area around it was known as 'the Rookery
Rookery (slum)
A rookery was the colloquial British English term given in the 18th and 19th centuries to a city slum occupied by poor people...
', a part of London that had developed in the 18th century as an unplanned slum to the west of the City. Though much of the area was cleared by the end of the 19th century, Denmark Street is one of the few roads in London to retain 17th century terraced facades on both sides. A small court connected by passages (known as Denmark Place) runs along the back of the north side of the street.
Venues on Denmark Street have strong connections with the histories of British jazz
British jazz
British jazz is a form of music derived from American jazz. It reached Britain through recordings and performers who visited the country while it was a relatively new genre, soon after the end of World War I. Jazz began to be played by British musicians from the 1930s and on a widespread basis in...
, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
and punk music. Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
recorded in basements in the street. Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
wrote his classic early song "Your Song
Your Song
"Your Song" is a ballad composed and performed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by his long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin. It appeared on John's self-titled second album in 1970....
" here. Later, the Sex Pistols
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band that formed in London in 1975. They were responsible for initiating the punk movement in the United Kingdom and inspiring many later punk and alternative rock musicians...
lived above number 6, and recorded their first demos there. The street contains London's largest cluster of music shops. It was also the original home of London's biggest science fiction and comic store, Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet (bookstore)
Forbidden Planet is the trading name of two separate science fiction, fantasy and horror bookshop chains across the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States of America, after the feature film of the same name....
.
Denmark Street in popular culture
1950s- In the 1950s and 60s it was where songwriters and publishers were located.
- In the late 1950s in the cafes around Denmark Street Lionel Bart, writer of the musical "Oliver!", heard the latest R&B brought over by young London Merchant Navy men and was inspired to knock out early British Rock and Roll hits for the publishers of Denmark Street.
1960s
- The Rolling StonesThe Rolling StonesThe Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
recorded their first album at Regent Sounds Studios on Denmark Street in 1964. - Many entertainers including DonovanDonovanDonovan Donovan Donovan (born Donovan Philips Leitch (born 10 May 1946) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist. Emerging from the British folk scene, he developed an eclectic and distinctive style that blended folk, jazz, pop, psychedelia, and world music...
and Jimi HendrixJimi HendrixJames Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
made their first recording at Regent Sounds Studios.. - George Harrison of The Beatles bought an nylon string acoustic guitar on Denmark street to play on the song "Till There Was You" on their second album "Meet The Beatles"
1970s
- In 1970 Elton John wrote "Your SongYour Song"Your Song" is a ballad composed and performed by English musician Elton John with lyrics by his long-time collaborator Bernie Taupin. It appeared on John's self-titled second album in 1970....
", his first hit single, in Denmark Street. He then mentioned the street in his 1974 song "Bitter Fingers" off his Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt CowboyCaptain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt CowboyCaptain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy is the ninth studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1975. It debuted at number 1 on the U.S. Pop Albums chart, the first album ever to do so, and stayed there for seven weeks. It was certified Gold on 5/21/1975 and was...
album. - Denmark Street is the name of a song on the KinksThe KinksThe Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
' 19701970 in music- Events :*January 3**Davy Jones announces he is leaving the Monkees**Former Pink Floyd frontman Syd Barrett releases his first solo album The Madcap Laughs....
album Lola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part OneLola versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part OneLola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround, Part OneAlternatively titled Kinks Part One: Lola Versus Powerman and the Moneygoround; commonly abbreviated to Lola Versus Powerman is the eighth studio album by British rock band The Kinks, recorded and released in 1970...
. - Manager Malcolm McLarenMalcolm McLarenMalcolm Robert Andrew McLaren was an English performer, impresario, self-publicist and manager of the Sex Pistols and the New York Dolls...
asked architect Ben Kelly to refurbish a basement rehearsal room for The Sex Pistols, which McLaren had bought from BadfingerBadfingerBadfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
. - Scott Gorham bought his first guitar with Thin Lizzy on Denmark Street, He had turned up at the audition with a Japanese Les Paul Copy, And when he got the job, Phillip Lynott took him shopping on Denmark Street, where he immediately picked up a Les Paul Standard, but it was too expensive. In the end, he settled for a Sunburst Gibson Les Paul Deluxe with Mini Humbuckers (this was the guitar he used during most of his career with Thin Lizzy).
2000s
- Denmark Street is mentioned in Jamie TJamie TJamie Alexander Treays , known by his stage name Jamie T, is an English singer/songwriter from Wimbledon, South London.-Early life:Jamie Alexander Treays, was born in Wimbledon, South-West London...
's track '368' on the album Kings and QueensKings and Queens (Jamie T album)Kings & Queens is the second album by Londoner singer-songwriter Jamie T, released on September 7, 2009. The album reached #2 on the UK Album Chart.-Singles:...
.